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Gardeners' Notes:

False olive in Hawaii is classified as a noxious invasive species. It grows very thick and fast, crowds out all other vegetation and spreads widely from wind, birds other animals. I just cut one down that is over a hundred yards from the hedge that my neighbor put up - the first false olive on my property (on the access road between us). The tree I cut was about 40 feet tall and wide and hosted a number of noxious coqui frogs. It was a little over a foot thick and very hard wood. My property now has 15 false olives, all from the neighbor's desire for privacy. Because it grows tall here - way over the 10 feet or so advertised - only the top 5-7 feet have thick enough leaves - no privacy for the first 8-10 feet. It also grew over and into my fence posts, wrapping the hogwire around its trunk as it grew. False olive is a nasty tree here! Nothing can grow under or near it because its roots are pervasive and difficult to cut out.